Zanetti says it's time to go

Inter captain Javier Zanetti has confirmed that he will retire at the end of the season.

The 40-year-old suffered a serious Achilles injury last season and has found game time hard to come by this term, making just 11 appearances in all competitions under coach Walter Mazzarri.

Club president Erick Thohir claimed last week that the Argentine would hang up his boots at the end of the season and take up a new role with the club , and Zanetti is looking forward to the challenge as he prepares to call time on a glittering 22-year career.

"To quit at 40 is a unique sensation. I feel proud of myself, this is the right moment," he told La Nacion .

"After my injury last year, I wanted to prove that I could come back to competitive football and I made it.

"I dreamed of ending my career with Inter. Inter is my home and I'll try to contribute off the pitch as well as on it.

"I'll be the sporting director - a fascinating new challenge. I'm willing to learn."

Zanetti, who joined Inter from Banfield back in 1995, made over 850 appearances for the club, winning five Serie A titles and the Champions League among numerous other trophies.

Despite being controversially overlooked for the 2006 and 2010 World Cups, he still earned a record 145 caps for the Argentina national team and played in both the 1998 and 2002 tournaments.